Cinchona

Introduction

• Quinine bark or peruvian bark

• Economic part: bark (quinine)- antimalarial drug.

• Cinchona succirubra

• C. officinalis

• C.ledgeeriana

• C. robusta

• C.hybrida

• Origin: South America, Andes region, Columbia, Eucador,

Peru.

• X=17 , Rubiaceae

Uses

• Source of anti malarial drug.

• Has anesthetic action in place of cocaine.

• Acts as sclerosing agent and also in treatment of varicose

veins.

• Protects from sunburns.

• Bitter, tonic, stomachic and appetizer. Mild irritant,

stimulant of gastric mucosa and other mucous membranes

and also uterine stimulant.

• Other non medicinal uses are salts of quinine employed in

beverages, hair oil preparation, vulcanization of rubber,

photography, optics for making polarized lenses.

Active constituents

• Alkaloids exists as salts of quinic and cincho tannic acid

(cyclic polyol, crystalline acid) -------- bark. In addition to

alkaloids, bark also contain glycoside Quinovin,

cinchofulvic and quinic acid, a bitterish oil possessing the

odour of bark and red coloring matter.

• Quinovin on hydrolysis yields quinonic acid and mannitan.

• 1% total alkaloids ----------- leaves

• Process of synthesis: alkaloid content increases up to the

age of 8-12 yrs and then decrease

• Alkaloid formed during descent of sap and their

concentration is low in twigs and increases down to stem to

a maximum in root bark.

• Eg. C.ledgeriana 90% of alkaloids in stem bark is of

quinine. 60% of alkaloids in root bark is of quinine

Botany and different species of cinchona

• Leaves are simple, deciduous

• Inflorescence is terminal panicle

• Fruit is capsule, flat winged seeds.

C.succirubra C.officinalis C.ledgeriana C.robusta C.hybrida

Elvn660-1800m 1800-2400m 900-1800m 1510m

Ht 40-50ft 20-30ft 20ft

Red bark Crown/laxa ledger/yellow

0.5-1.5% 1.5-2.0% 4.5% up to 2% 2.5%

very less 14%

All sp. 2n=34; C.officinalis, C.ledgeriana are preferred because

high quinine

C.succirubra C.officinalis C.ledgeriana C.robusta C.hybrida

Var of higher altitu- hybrid of hybrid of hybrid of

C.Pubescens tudes of SI C.calisaya × C.succirubra C.succirubra

[mountains C.succirubra × ×

of Columbia or C.calisaya C.officinalis C.ledgeriana

& Peru] × C.succirubra

× C.lancifolia

Varieties • Cross pollinated plant, plant no. 701 identified by Tamil Nadu

forest department having 12% quinine sulphate present in bark

Soil and climate • Light well drained forest soil, rich in OM no water logging and

high WHC, acidic soils of pH 4.6-6.5

• Ca requirement of crop is high

• C.ledgeriana best in tropical climates under 1800 m

elevation.

• 13.5-21°C is required for other sp. Growth will be poor, if

below temperatures of 7°C and above 26 °C are recorded.

• RH of 83% and rainfall of 200mm/yr with well distribution.

• Cinchona is susceptible to frost, hence it is not suitable to

grow in hilly regions.

Preparation of land

• Forest soils are best suited

• So, we have to clear forest then level the ground and dug to

a depth of 45 cm to improve soil structure.

• Pits of 60 cm3 are dug and filled with topsoil and well

decomposed OM.

Propagation

• Seeds

• Cutting (terminal)

• Stooling

• Layering

• Cleft grafting

• Vineer/side grafting

• Patch budding

vegetative propagation is preferred. In India, seed propagation is preferred as it is less expensive.

Seeds

• Seeds are small as they lose viability on storage.

• Seeds are sown in the month of April, on sloping beds.

These three methods

85% success

• Top soil of nursery i.e top 2-3 inches is prepared by mixing with compost or any organic manure.

• Seeds are to be pressed firmly in seed bed and covered with thin layer of sand.

• Seeds will germinate in 20-40 days. Among 50% germinated seedlings, only 10% seedlings have to be selected for transplanting. Avoid weak, lean and lanky seedlings.

• Seedlings grown in nursery can be transplanted in basket or PE bags, when they are about 4 months old with two pairs of leaves.

• Seedlings will be ready to plant in main field during mid May-June of succeeding year when they are about 14-18 months old and are of 30-60 cm ht.

Vegetative Propagation

• Ideal time is during March- middle of June.

• Patch budding can be done in nurseries or in plantations or can be done in in situ in the field. So, plants should be are of 1-2yrs old.

• Budding on coppices has given better growth of budded plants.

• Cuttings are made to root by cincturing and etiolation. During May-June, shoots which are cinctured and etiolated collected after 50-65 days and planted in nursery.

• In layering, East malling method given good results. Yield of each shoot is of 100-200 shoots per annum after 2-3 coppicings.

• For grafting C.succirubra used as stock.

Planting

• Onset of monsoon or soil should be sufficiently moist.

• Spacing is of 120×120 cm or 150×150 cm i.e av. of 8000 plants per ha.

• Harvesting starts from the age of 3-5 yrs, after 25 yrs after planting av.

of 800 plants will remain per ha.

After care of plants

• In initial yrs, plants require shade. This can be provided by planting sp.

like Alnus nepalensis, Erythrina indica, Albizzia and Grivellia robusta

at 20 ft apart. Plants should be stalked properly in first three years.

Application of fertilizers

• Acidic soils needs liming.

• 115 kg N, 105 kg P, 115 kg K per ha in the form of amm.sulphate, SSP

and MOP

• Quinine content increases with the age of three under favourable

nutritional conditions.

Weeding

• Weeding is necessary in young plantations till plants spread in between rows.

Intercropping

• Leucaena and Crotalaria sp. are common in older plantations, shade tolerant sp. of cover crops may used.

Harvesting

• For judging amount of vegetative growth, trees are coppiced at 6-8 yrs old. (coppicing means pruning trees at ht of 5cm above ground)

• After regeneration of shoots only 2-3 shoots retained to grow further.

• 2nd coppicing is done 8-10yrs after 1st coppicing. Major harvests are first 2-3 coppicings.

Process

• Bark is separated from coppices by beating it with a mallet and then peeled by hand or knife.

• For easy removal ringing the stem at 45-60 cm intervals from the base.

• After peeling peeled barks are kept in shade for drying (2-3 days).

• Artificial drying can be used in rainy season. For this hot air ovens are used which are regulated at temp of 70° C (Long strips of bark are cut into small pieces and fed into upper end of a long, slightly inclined , rotating, cylindrical oven)

• Dried product contains 10% moisture , after drying bark packed in gunny bags. Dried bark is called as druggish bark (1.8-2% quinine)

Yield

• 4000 kg of dry stem bark per ha--- 1st two coppicings

• 6000 kg per ha at final stage

• The root at final harvest has much higher alkaloid

percentage. Root bark constitutes 30-40% of total produce

eg. C.ledgeriana

Trading

• There is no grading system for cinchona bark.

• But bark classified into industrial bark ----1 (small pieces),

for extraction of alkaloid

druggist bark-----2 quills of 30 cm long,

1.8 cm wide, 2-6 mm thick, preparation of gelatin

Factors affecting trade of bark

• Country of origin

• Color of inner side of bark

• Moisture content

• Total alkaloid content

• Quinine content (% of quinine as anhydrous alkaloid)

• Quinidine content

• Quinine sulpahte

• Most pharmacopoeias prescribe minimum total alkaloid of 5-7% in bark.

Packing

• Bark in pieces or chips packed in jute bags of 50-60kg.

• Ground bark packed in PE lined jute bags or PE sacks of 100 kg capacity

• Before chipping or grinding bark must be dried to a

minimum moisture content of 10%

• Red and yellow bark approved to use in beverage with a

limited amount of total alkaloids, i.e should not exceed 83

ppm in finished product.